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Every business or brand needs a website these days, and if you’ve been searching for the right way to create yours, you’ve likely come across Squarespace and SmugMug before.
Although they have some similarities, their overall purpose is unique, so there’s bound to be one that’s better suited than the other.
Is SmugMug or Squarespace better?
SmugMug is a better choice for artists and photographers who want an online place to share their work and sell prints, whereas Squarespace is a more general website builder that also offers some eCommerce tools.
Depending on your brand, either one of these can be an effective way to share your ideas with the world.
We’re going to do a deep dive into the SmugMug vs Squarespace debate and see who fairs better in things like SEO, eCommerce tools, pricing and plans, and customer support.
In the end, you’ll know exactly which avenue to take to ensure your website gets off the ground with great success.
What Is SmugMug?
SmugMug is considered all-in-one photography and video platform, where users can do everything from uploading and showcasing their work, to creating an online store to sell prints and digital media.
The goal of SmugMug is to act like a virtual portfolio that makes sharing projects easy but still gives you a way to make money on the side.
Within the SmugMug range of features, you’ll be able to do things like customizing a page, getting unlimited storage for your photos and videos, and setting up an eCommerce store with a variety of tools.
It’s the better pick for artists, photographers, and anyone involved in digital media who wants to share their work and earn an income from it.
What Is Squarespace?
Squarespace was first founded 17 years ago and, in that time, has become one of the most recognized names in eCommerce website building.
The premise of Squarespace is that it acts as a one-stop-shop for hosting creating a website with loads of templates and easy drag and drop features, and the ability to sell just about any service or product.
There’s no shortage of features and tools on Squarespace, like website analytics, SEO tools, and marketing, so you only have to rely on them to create your online store.
This is one of the preferred choices for people with a general item to sell or who have minimal technical skills but still want a professional storefront.
SmugMug and Squarespace User Interfaces
The interface of a website builder will have a huge impact on how the user navigates their system.
That being said, we need to look at how SmugMug and Squarespace are laid out and what that means for you as the person creating the site.
Squarespace Interface
Squarespace has an advantage over SmugMug when it comes to the user interface, as the whole platform comes across as uncluttered and intuitive, which is exactly what you want when building a website.
Although it’s not as simple as some other website builders, it looks more professional and you’ll find it easy to navigate between the main editing board and the tools on the left-hand side.
Smugmug Interface
SmugMug runs on a drag-and-drop type of setup, so in that regard it’s easy, but it can also look too plain at times.
Where they run into problems is that some of the tools arrive as a pop-up menu and others are in a drag-and-drop content block, so changing this to a more cohesive editing option would have been ideal.
However, it’s still attractive and easy to navigate through, and we rate it as one of the better options out there.
How They Help With SEO
The key to a high-performing website is one with good SEO and analytics available for the owner to use as they wish.
The good news is, both Smugmug and Squarespace give users access to SEO tools and allow them to analyze traffic and conversions pretty easily.
SEO With SmugMug
SmugMug deals primarily with image and video-based websites, so it’s surprising to find there are loads of ways to optimize SEO with this builder.
Among their SEO tools are things like site maps, meta descriptions, meta keywords, page title bars, gallery titles and keywords, and more.
They’ve got loads of resources available to help you rank higher on Google as well.
Squarespace’s SEO Tools
Squarespace’s range of SEO tools is vaster but that’s only because they’re a more general eCommerce store builder, and these come as built-in tools or plugins.
You’ll be able to boost your online presence with features like sitemaps, clean URLs, and keywords, and it also integrates with Google Search Console.
Website Building Tools
The goal of both of these websites is to make it easy for people to build a website, and they’ve succeeded.
Squarespace wins this round, though, with a huger set of tools available, however, Smugmug’s tools are more specific to promoting and selling art and photography.
Building With SmugMug
There are currently just over 20 templates available on SmugMug to choose from and you can add your own themes to have the color, font, or layout you want, as well as full control over CSS and HTML if you choose.
You can then upload your photos and arrange them as you like, and the entire process is done.
Squarespace Building Tools
The process of building a website with Squarespace takes a little longer but that’s because there are more options for getting it done.
You can start with one of their 60+ templates depending on what products or services you’re selling, and customize it with features like third-party extensions, galleries, and more, and everything is done by dragging and dropping.
eCommerce Features
At their core, SmugMug and Squarespace are all about helping people make money, and if you’re selling art or prints specifically, SmugMug is our favorite.
Although there’s no need to add an eCommerce function on your website when you use either of these, it’s a great way to earn some cash, and both of them have made it easy.
Selling With SmugMug
With your gallery all setup and the right plan for selling, you can start earning cash with your work.
This includes tools like photo packages and coupons, third-party printing services for gifts, watermarks, and fulfillment services.
It has everything an artist or photographer could ever want in an eCommerce store.
eCommerce and Squarespace
Squarespace also has a range of eCommerce tools, provided you started your website with eCommerce in mind.
From there, you can use additional features like inventory management, product displays, catalogs, and mobile optimization.
There’s a lot to work through but if you spend the time and effort, you’ll have a fully-fledged eCommerce store that can do it all.
Customization
Using a website builder can be a scary prospect if you’re worried about getting lost in the crowd, so if you want more customization, we recommend Squarespace.
However, SmugMug offers the chance to use CSS and HTML to go deeper, so it depends on the user’s preferences and skillset.
SmugMug Customization Tools
There’s a noticeable lack of templates when you compare SmugMug to Squarespace, but you still get the chance to modify them more deeply plus use CSS and HTML if you’re technical enough.
However, most of the templates come in the grid format, and although this is a smart choice for photography and art, it feels a little limiting.
Squarespace Customization Tools
Squarespace offers more in this area but it’s still quite basic at its core, and it doesn’t offer HTML or in-depth customization.
There are more templates though, and they can be changed around quite a bit, with lots of plugins, features, and configurations available.
There are only a handful of templates for photography though, so stick to SmugMug if this is your store’s focus.
Pricing and Plans
If you’re looking to save money, SmugMug is the clear winner in this round, with their plans costing around half of what Squarespace’s do.
They both come in four different tiers from basic to advanced with different features depending on what you choose.
Here’s a quick rundown of what you can expect in terms of fees and trial periods to test out the platforms:
SmugMug Pricing
- 14-day free trial with no credit card required
- $7 a month for their basic plan and $5 a month for a year’s contract
- $42 a month for the top tier or $30 a month over a year contract
Squarespace Pricing
- 14-day free trial with no credit card required
- $16 a month for their basic plan and $12 a month for a year’s contract
- $46 a month for the top tier or $40 a month over a year contract
Customer Support
Building a website is hard work if you don’t know what you’re doing, and there are bound to be issues that pop up over the life of your eCommerce store.
The good news is, both SmugMug and Squarespace seem to understand this and have a bevy of help options available, with the former slightly edging out the competition thanks to their free training for paid customers.
SmugMug Customer Support
- 24/7 support
- Live chat on their site
- Community forums
- Video tutorials
- Training events
Squarespace Customer Support
- 24/7 support
- Live chat on their site
- Email support
- Community FAQs and answers
- Help center
The Verdict
SmugMug and Squarespace have both tried to make it easy for the everyday person to create an online store, but depending on what you sell, you’ll probably find one a better fit than the other.
With that in mind, we think SmugMug is the right choice for artists, photographers, and other creatives, whereas Squarespace is the pick for anyone who wants a general eCommerce store.
Both are a little light on customization when you compare them to other builders and content management systems, but they’re enough to build a functional and successful storefront online.
Whether you’re creative or have a service or product to sell, and you want to make it easy on yourself, Squarespace and SmugMug each have something special to offer.
Related Questions
A huge portion of your brand’s online success will come down to choosing the right platform to host it, which is why the SmugMug vs Squarespace debate comes up so often.
To learn more about the various options for building an eCommerce store and what they require, check out these FAQs on the topic.
What’s the Difference Between Squarespace and WordPress?
Squarespace is a simple drag-and-drop website builder, and so is WordPress, but the latter gives you more options for customization.
If you need a comprehensive Content Management System, WordPress will be better, otherwise, Squarespace has all of the basics for creating a website.
How Long Does It Take to Build an eCommerce Store?
The length of time to set up an eCommerce store from the ground up depends on the product for sale and the skills of the person building it.
On average, you can expect to spend a few months building a new website, but if you’re using a drag-and-drop website builder, it can be completed in a lot less.
Can You Make Money With an Online Store?
Having an online presence is one way to present your goods and services to potential customers, but unless you have some form of paid advertising or passive income source on it, the store itself won’t earn any income.
An online business requires a structured plan, like any other, to determine its financial goals and budgets so it can work towards meeting them.
